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The Union Government passed a bill in the Lok Sabha to permit the use of DNA Technology for efficient administration in civil and criminal cases, and the regulatory body would be established at the national level to monitor the use and application of DNA Technology and the accreditation of DNA laboratories.
The Bill would be of great assistance in ascertaining the identity of a person in criminal and other specified criminal matters. Additionally, the bill provides a Schedule comprising a list of civil matters for which the respective statutory authority can avail the DNA Technology. Some of the issues having relevance to the matters enlisted in the Schedule include parentage, pedigree, assisted reproductive technology, transplantation of human organs, immigration.
The Bill would also help in finding the individuals who went missing or were abandoned or dead unidentified. Further, the Bill provides for the establishment of National Data Bank and Regional Data Banks, which would have to develop and maintain a catalogue containing: (i) crime scene index, (ii) suspects' or undertrials' index, (iii) offenders' index, (iv) missing persons' index, and (v) unknown deceased persons' index.
As per Clause 21(1) of the Bill, insofar as the consent of the individuals is concerned, the investigative agency need not obtain an individual’s consent when the offence alleged to have been committed by him is punishable with imprisonment for a term more than seven years. However, for other offences, the investigative agency must obtain the consent of the individual. If the arrested person is reluctant in providing his consent, the police should secure an order to that effect from the Judicial Magistrate to obtain bodily substances or DNA.
The Bill provides for having the DNA profiles safe in the data banks. Clause 33 provides that the DNA Profiles are to be used only for the identification of persons and not for any other reasons. A person may voluntarily assent to providing his DNA sample to aid the investigation in finding a missing relative, or if he had been in the crime scene. The purposes for which the DNA sample may be used are enlisted as follows:
The Bill permits the removal of DNA profiles from the crime scene index and missing person index if a request is made in writing. Dr Harshvardhan Singh, Union Health Minister, has clarified that issue of misuse of the technology has been addressed. He further added that the use of technology prevails in various dominant countries such as USA, UK, Norway, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Finland.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor raised concerns as a responsible member of the opposition party. He said that the Bill infringes the Right to privacy of the citizens. In the absence of Data Protection law and procedural safeguard, the Bill would infringe the right to privacy of a citizen. Further, he said that a government which dictates what we should do has now begun to store our very DNA profiles.
A member from TMC lauded the move but raised concerns about the abuse of power when the agencies store DNA profiles. Another gentleman from RSP named NK Premchandran demanded the bill be sent to the Parliament Standing Committee.
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